A guy who isn’t being talked about much who may be attracting a lot of interest is New Jersey defenceman Marek Zidlicky. Nobody is sure if Devils GM Lou Lamoriello would actually deal Zidlicky, but teams have been calling to see what the asking price is, just in case he does decide to make a move.

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The Maple Leafs want to be the busiest team in the league Monday. They have been trying to deal almost their entire roster, but all eyes will be on captain Dion Phaneuf and wingers Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul. They’ve also, for the past two weeks, been shopping centre Tyler Bozak and his $4.2-million salary. Toronto has a chance to make this a significant day if they make moves.

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The Montreal Canadiens set up shop in San Jose on Sunday night after a long flight that left at 11 a.m. The Habs have been steadfast in their search for a defenceman since the quest for help began. They were able to help their forward ranks by picking up Devante Smith-Pelley from the Ducks earlier this week in exchange for Jiri Sekac, but the thinking is GM Marc Bergevin isn’t done. The Habs would like to get a defenceman and the belief is they’ve been eyeing Toronto’s Roman Polak and Edmonton’s Jeff Petry. Though teams have wanted draft picks in return, the talk is the Habs may be dangling goaltender prospect Zach Fucale, who was a second-round selection (No. 36 overall) in 2013.

Garrioch continues, reporting that the Sabres and Bruins may swing a Chris Stewart deal, that the Blues want to make some sort of impact and that Matt Beleskey is in high demand.

Two days prior to the trade deadline, Sportsnet's Damien Cox and Elliotte Friedman dished trade-related "headlines" during the 2nd intermission of Hockey Night in Canada's Saturday broadcast.

Cox stated that the Maple Leafs may be the most active team at the deadline. They're listening to offers for Jonathan Bernier, emphasis on "listening," but there are teams like San Jose, Dallas perhaps (given that Kari Lehtonen continues to struggle); Olli Jokinen, Korbinian Holzer and David Booth are also possible moves.

Cox wondered whether the Maple Leafs would trade Joffrey Lupul to the Habs, and there is only "very lukewarm interest" there, and the Clarkson deal was going to be more complicated, but the Blue Jackets and Leafs were unable to consummate a larger deal, so they swapped Horton for Clarkson.

According to Friedman, Patrick Sharp was not asked for a list of 10 teams to which he would accept a trade within 48 hours of the trade deadline, and because that list wasn't asked for before 3 PM on Saturday, he's going nowhere; he also reports that Mats Zuccarello and the Rangers are at contract loggerheads, and the Rangers offered 6 years at $4.5 million on average, so he's being shopped, but the Rangers are not allowing would-be suitors to discuss a contract with Zuccarello before making trade offers;

Jeff Petry's not playing tonight for Edmonton and Montreal, Anaheim and St. Louis have been rumored; Friedman wonders if the Blues have considered moving Vladimir Sobotka to help the team despite Sobotka's status as a KHL'er;

Lots of Oilers fans wonder how a team with such a weak defence can afford to let Jeff Petry go. They’re right — he’s going to leave a big hole next year. But last summer, when the time came to sign Petry long-term, his game wasn’t deserving of the commitment. Sure, he was the best guy on a poor defence, but in my opinion, someone will be having buyer’s remorse on Petry at this time next year, when he signs for four years and $18-19 million.

The key to the negotiations though, is that Petry wanted to go to UFA. There haven’t been any talks leading up to the deadline. The player simply wants to exercise his rights, play the field, and make a choice on a new team come July 1. It isn’t always a GM’s mistake when a player leaves. Sometimes the player, in this case an American-born player married to an American girl, wants to head south.

With the defending Cup champion Los Angeles Kings giving up a first-round draft pick in 2015 and a blue-chip prospect to acquire solid Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Andrej Sekera, the gauntlet has been thrown down at the feet of their rival, the Anaheim Ducks.

Can Edmonton Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish squeeze a first-rounder out of the Ducks now for Jeff Petry? Maybe.

Petry is the best available rental defenceman on the board now, unless you are a Zbynek Michalek fan from Arizona, and the dominoes usually start to fall in the West when one Cup threat makes a bold move.

Montreal, Detroit, Tampa, Washington, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and the Ducks are all looking for one more defenceman, and Sekera, 28, who plays hard and can make a good first pass and might sign with L.A. after the season, may have set the price for rental defencemen.

The feeling has long been that the Oilers were looking for a second-round pick and a solid blue-line prospect for teams, but maybe Sekera has changed MacTavish’s game plan somewhat.

The Ducks are one of the teams looking for defence reinforcements if they don’t have to give up too much as are Montreal, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Tampa and the Rangers. Oiler GM Craig MacTavish wants a draft pick and young body for Petry who was injured against Boston Bruins this past Wednesday when hit by an Adam McQuaid shot. The two games he’s just missed are the only two for medical reasons this year.

The Habs are looking for a second-pairing D to play with Alexei Emelin in a shutdown situation. The Wings have liked Russian rookie Alexey Marchenko, 23, a right-handed D like Petry, but are looking for one more experienced hand. The Ducks, who have Sami Vatanen out at least a month with a leg injury, are in the same boat as Detroit, as is Pittsburgh which wants to upgrade its third pairing. Tampa is getting Matt Carle back from abdominal surgery but has lost Radko Gudas (right knee) for the season. The Rangers are looking for a partner for Dan Boyle.

more with Matheson wondering if the Oilers should sit Petry to make sure he is healthy...

If you were holding out any last-ditch hope for a new deal for free-agent Edmonton Oilers defenceman Jeff Petry — arguably their best blue-liner this season — before the National Hockey League trade deadline on March 2, forget it.

“We have had no contract negotiations with the Oilers and we’ve expressed that to Jeff,” said his agent Wade Arnott, who also represents Oilers defenceman Justin Schultz. “We expect Jeff will be dealt by the deadline.”

So, Petry has six or fewer games left in the orange and blue before the deadline. In Winnipeg Monday, at home to Boston, Minnesota and Anaheim this upcoming week, in Minnesota Feb. 24, then at Rexall against St. Louis Feb. 28.

He has played 292 games but he won’t get to 300 as an Oiler.

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Sources say teams have already started calling Arnott to see if Petry might want to sign with them before he goes the free-agent route July 1. If so, the Oilers could conceivably get something more than, say, a second-round draft pick or a younger defenceman in a trade.

His game has taken a marked turn for the better, and it’s hard to fathom a scenario where the Oilers will just let their 2006 draft pick walk on July 1 without at least securing a draft pick — assuming, of course, he isn’t re-signed.

But between now and March 2, Petry intends to do what he can to dismiss the external chatter.

“It’s business as usual for me. From the summer until the first week of the season, there were rumours going around, so I just have to continue to block them out. They are just rumours until something actually happens,” the 27-year-old said before the team headed out for a six-game road trip that starts Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs and concludes Feb. 16 against the Winnipeg Jets.

“I’ve talked to my agent a little bit about what to expect. From there, it’s just a wait and see.”

A healthy scratch earlier this season, Petry has been the steadiest of the defencemen of late, although he may never be physical enough to hush his critics.

When you’re at the bottom rung of the National Hockey League ladder, it’s pretty obvious you’re a seller at the trade deadline — especially with guys who can walk away on July 1, no strings attached.

Which brings us to Jeff Petry. The Edmonton Oilers defenceman is in the prime of his career, but he’s due to become an unrestricted free agent following this season.

The clock’s ticking loudly on Petry — if there’s no traction on a long-term deal from his side or from Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish, he’s out the door by the trade deadline March 5, 21 games from now.

Chances are he’ll head to the Detroit Red Wings or to the Pittsburgh Penguins or to any team looking for one of those rare birds: a right-handed shooting defenceman who can skate and who has lots left on his odometer at age 27.

Rentals, outside big names such as Jarome Iginla when he left Calgary for Pittsburgh, normally bring back second-round draft picks or prospects at the deadline, but if a team feels they can sign a player before July 1, often they’ll give up more than one piece. Petry doesn’t want to think about the trade deadline, though.

The Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch has made a helluva case for Antoine Vermette as the league's most useful player available at the trade deadline (in no small part because the Arizona Coyotes forward used to be a Senator), and Vermette's far from chopped liver, but these parts of his Sunday rumor column are more interesting than Vermette talk or discussion of Team Canada WJC coach Benoit Groulx's future:

Montreal GM Marc Bergevin has been working the phones to try to get help up front. Yes, the Habs have had a great first half, but they'd still like to get a little more size among their forwards for a long playoff run. They waived blue-liner Bryan Allen and his $3.5-million contract. He was sent to the club's AHL affiliate in Hamilton and the Habs are hopeful someone will deal for him ... If a team is looking for experience, a possible option is Colorado C Daniel Briere. A UFA with a $4-million cap hit, he's being used in a fourth-line role by the Avs. Briere, 36, could be a nice fit for a team in the East and the Avs wouldn't want much more than a draft pick in return. The Islanders could use a guy like Briere. They have little experience ... A possible fit for the Wings: Oilers' D Jeff Petry. Detroit GM Ken Holland was on Edmonton radio last week and indicated he needs a right shot. Petry is a UFA and a Michigan native.

Ryan Kesler's also from Michigan, and the Wings were supposedly in trade talks for him, too, but that didn't happen. A player's Michigan ties haven't fared into the Wings,' "We want to trade for guy over the other one" decision-making process since the Jimmy Carson trade.

Flyers GM Ron Hextall is getting antsy to make deals. Philly has virtually no shot at making the playoffs, coach Craig Berube is on the hot-seat and Hextall wouldn't mind clearing out cash. While the Flyers would like to move blue-liners Nick Schultz, Carlo Colaiacovo and Michael Del Zotto, the guy teams really covet is Braydon Coburn. With a $4.5-million cap hit through 2016-17, Coburn is highly regarded and could bring a good return. There's also interest in centre Brayden Schenn, who has a cap hit of $2.75 million through next season.

Jeff Petry is 27-years-old, in the prime of his career as an NHL defenceman. He’s likely got five or six years left where he will play at peak or near peak performance.

Petry has also been the most steady defenceman on the Edmonton Oilers for years now. He’s constantly sent out to play against the toughest competition in the NHL’s toughest conference, but more than any other Oilers d-man, he’s held his own. In fact, most d-men on the Oilers have wilted when asked to face the monster attackers of the West game in, game out, forwards such as Ryan Getzlaf, Anze Kopitar, David Backes and Jonathan Toews. But Petry has done OK. He’s not the kind of true No. 1 d-man the Oilers need, but he’s shown he can generally hold his own against the best of the best.

He’s not a great passer, but he passes OK. He’s not the toughest NHLer, but he generally takes the man. He’s not a big point producer, but he’s asked to carry the puck a ton and he moves it fine.

The Edmonton Oilers announced today they have agreed to terms with defenceman Jeff Petry on a one-year contract.

Petry, 26, recorded 17 points (7G, 10A) and 42 penalty minutes in 80 games last season. He also led the Oilers in blocked shots (132) and hits (181), marking the third straight year he has ranked in the top two on the team in hits.

The 6'3", 195 pound blueliner has spent his entire NHL career with the Oilers, accumulating 59 points (13G, 46A) and 107 penalty minutes in 236 career games.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan native has represented his country several times internationally, most recently at the 2014 World Hockey Championship, posting four assists in eight games. He also participated in the World Hockey Championship in 2012 and 2013.